Old Soldiers Don't Have to Fade Away

Updated Aug. 17, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

In his Aug. 4 editorial-page commentary "General Malaise," Eliot Cohen argued against retired generals and admirals lending their support to political candidates. He characterized such activity as reckless and destructive on the part of the politicians and the officers, supposedly calling into question the political impartiality of our armed forces. By openly participating in the political process of selecting presidential candidates, he asserts, retired generals and admirals "diminish American politics, and damage...